Some remarks on the Early Bronze Age I defence system at Hacilar Buyuk Hoyuk (Burdur, Turkey)

Abstract

Hacilar Buyuk Hoyuk is located 27 km southwest of Burdur near the eponymous village of Hacilar. Forty of the building units (casemates) that form a carefully pre-planned multi- defence system with "saw-tooth" protrusions and two city gates have been uncovered in the western half of the city. Hacilar Buyuk Hoyuk must have been the centre of a strong local kingdom at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, and would have controlled the village settlements in the surrounding region that made a living through agriculture, animal husbandry and trade on a small scale. The urban layout uncovered in the past nine years of excavations and the dimensions and ostentatious appearance of the defence system display qualities that have so far not been seen at any other centre.